WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Amber Cannady (Yonkers, N.Y./Charles E. Gorton) hit .500 with a team-high 10 kills to lead University of New Haven women’s volleyball to a sweep of visiting Dowling on Friday evening at Charger Gymnasium. The Chargers, who also downed the Golden Lions in September on Long Island, have won 14 straight matches.
New Haven improves to 17-1 after the non-conference victory by set scores of 25-12, 25-18 and 25-23, while Dowling falls to 14-10.
Cannady’s 10 kills came on 16 swings (10-2-16) as the Chargers hit .237 (40-18-93) collectively. Keidy Candelaria (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Bayamon Military Academy) registered nine kills, Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) had seven, Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) and Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawaii/Kamehameha) each posted six and Ashley Dalton (Helena, Mont./Capital / Northern Arizona) rounded out the attack with a pair of finishers.
Ane, who is the two-time reigning Northeast-10 Setter of the Week, distributed a match-best 30 assists.
Defensively, Lee helmed the back row with nine digs followed by eight from Ane and Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai’i/Le Jardin Academy). Cannady led the effort at the net with a hand in four of New Haven’s six blocks.
Candelaria landed three of the Chargers’ five service aces with winners also dropping for Lee and Ane.
Dowling got a match-high 11 kills from Cassy Kelly. Mirjana Radovanovic and Kayla Dillman distributed 15 and 13 assists, respectively, and Kayla Morgan posted nine digs.
New Haven jumped out to an early lead in set one, winning the first five and seven of the opening eight rallies. Another 5-0 spurt followed as the Chargers opened up a 14-4 cushion. The clubs traded points for the remainder of the frame and a block by Atufunwa and Dalton sealed a 25-12 win.
Set two started as a back-and-forth contest, with neither team leading by more than one point up to a 10-10 deadlock. Dowling made the first run to take a 14-10 lead, but the Chargers responded with the next eight points to build an 18-14 margin. New Haven continues to apply pressure en route to a 25-18 victory and 2-0 edge in the match.
The teams traded points for most of the third set as 14 ties and six lead changes ran the margin to 23-23. An ace from Candelaria gave New Haven a set-point opportunity, and Atufunwa hammered home an overpass on the ensuing rally to complete a 25-23 win and clinch a 3-0 sweep.
Tonight’s contest marked the end of the Chargers’ three-match homestand. New Haven will play at Northeast-10 opponents Southern New Hampshire and Adelphi before returning to Charger Gym on Friday, Oct. 26 for a 4:30 p.m. meeting with Saint Michael’s.
